Identify the carboxylic acid and the alcohol that are

Step 1 of 4

In this multi-part exercise, we’re shown a variety of organic esters. We’re asked to identify the carboxylic acid and alcohol starting materials that would have been necessary to make these esters using a Fischer esterification. Recall that a Fischer esterification combines a carboxylic acid and an alcohol under acidic catalysis (with loss of water) to form the ester products.

To work retrosynthetically, simply imagine breaking the single bond between the carbonyl carbon and the adjacent oxygen. Place a hydroxyl group on the carbonyl fragment and hydrogen on the oxygen fragment and the two necessary starting materials will become apparent.